Living in Ogoniland has become a nightmare for those who understand that  Ogoni is gasping for survival. This week, the experience from visits to  five Ogoni communities – Bori, Yeghe, Kpean, Biara and Boue are  excruciating, chilly as the final verdict is that death is on the  prowl. in Ogoniland.
In Bori, an encounter with a casket dealer. Sor Orbe reveal how business  has gradually become very lucrative. His sales has more than doubled  over the last 6 months. Obviously, it reflects more burials in  Ogoniland. Despite the huge sales and accompanying profits, Orbe pained  by this trend, he knows that his revenue is a reflection of the poor  conditions of the people and an increased death rate. He says “this  should not be so. People are dying too much”
In Yeghe, only those who do not have conscience will walk away without  tears at the sufferings of innocent little children and women who have  resorted to prayers to save their community. The rate of cancer related  deaths that has been unreported in this very poor community is alarming.
The situation in Yeghe had been worsened by the military raids on the  community since February this year. Women, children are malnourished and  the women who are predominantly farmers are afraid to get into the farms  for fear of being raped by Nigerian soldiers looking for one Solomon  Ndigbara.
On 13th September, Alice Naanee Diginee, 77, died in Yeghe from shock.  During one of the raids, she was returning from her farm and slumped out  of fear from the terrifying sound of gunshots. After months of battling  with shock, she eventually gave up in September 2016.
One Werelo W (full name withheld), about 60 years old native of Yeghe is   at the verge of death. She is currently battling with Cancer and may not  see the end of December 2016. The doctors have recommended her transfer  to the cancer center in Ibadan, Western Nigeria but she and her family  cannot afford the bills.
Several young people were found to be on heart related medication. One  Lesin (full name withheld), another native of Yeghe, aged 21 came to  seek help to buy her medication. Lots of young people in Yeghe suffer  from heart conditions created by fear from a possible military raid on  their community.     In Kpean, the large number of widows will shock you. Why Ogoni men die  so young is inexplicable but certainly cannot be unconnected from the  poor health conditions in which they live and the absence of medical  facilities and personnel to provide the needed help.
Kpean is an oil producing community and as you will find with many  others, Bodo, K-Dere, Boue, Bomu, Goi and so on, the creeks and source  of seafood like crabs, Tilapia and shrimps which had been part the the  community’s staples are all polluted and can no longer support healthy  living. Oil spills of over 40years have destroyed them all.
Hunger hits the residents in Kpean. One Kua Nwi-Werelo sat outside her  home in shredded cloths. Kua reports that food was now a problem as the  farm yield have become so depreciated and can no longer support her  family of four.
In Biara, Bori and Boue, the story of poverty, sickness and death are  just the same. At the General Hospital in Bori, the hospital management  had decided to evacuate the corpses into a mass grave to pave way for  new ones. Mortuaries in Ogoniland have become full and their is actually  need for more to be established.
At Nyoungrong, a boundary community with the neighboring Andonis is a  private mortuary. Prices have gone up for the limited spaces available  and the boom could be glaring every Friday and Saturday, the traditional  days for burial in Ogoniland.
The health crises in Ogoniland underscores the need to immediately  commence the process to clean Ogoniland. Delays in appointing a project  manager and attempts by politicians to jettison competence and  experience in favour of political party considerations cannot be  accepted by the Ogoni people. The lives and future of Ogonis cannot be  traded by politicians whose glaring performance outcomes as leaders in  our country have been corruption, looting and failures that have now  left us with a dying environment, poor health facilities and a severely  dysfunctional society. The future of Ogoni cannot be decided by people  of this class. Ogoni needs a non-partisan expert to manage the cleanup  project and should be ready to peacefully resist any unqualified  imposition outside these expectations.
The lessons of what has happened to the Ogonis only sends painful chills  down the spine. The story of what is happening in Ogoni reflect what  Nigeria has got to offer those who choose not to take up arms, those who  choose the non-violent means and do not opt for pipeline vandalism.  While the Nigerian government will so cursorily negotiate with those who  blow up the pipelines and take up arms against the state, the Ogonis are  allowed to die for choosing the non-violent means.
But we won’t jettison non-violence to attract any favour from the  government. To opt for violent agitation will be death for our people.  We will intensify our resistance against the government and Shell. We  must get our voices heard all over. We will be out there peacefully to  register our displeasure against this genocide for if we don’t, death  will be inevitable.
In the midst of these terrible conditions, the Nigerian army worsens the  situation with raids claiming to be looking for one Solomon Ndigbara.  The faces of half-dead walking corpses called humans who traverse  Ogoniland are not enough to attract the sympathy of these soldiers.
It is good that an investigation by federal lawmakers find significant  incoherence in the narratives of the army and Police over the raids in  Yeghe. Comparing notes with the accounts provided by the army  authorities, government representatives and the leading political  parties in February reveal serious distortions and give credence to the  allegation that the raids on Yeghe could be truly motivated politically  especially as it began shortly before the re-run elections earlier  scheduled for May 2016. The glaring inconsistencies regarding the aids  on Ogoniland can put the integrity of our armed forces to question.
Nigeria must do something about Ogoni now, not just to protect her but  to restore and respect her rights as a distinct ethnic nationality  within the Nigerian nation-state. Death from Cancer is almost certain  for all residents if nothing is done about the quality of water, health  facilities and the full restoration of the Ogoni environment.
The situation in Ogoni is an emergency. This is the time to act to save  those we can save. Ogoni is almost dead and we must all stand out now  and save her from the strangulating oppression of Nigeria’s leadership  inaction and unjust system.
THE TIME TO CLEANUP OGONI IS NOW!!!
Written by Fegalo Nsuke, the Publicity Secretary of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP)
